


No More Silence Anymore

by ShuckinLoser



Category: Frühlings Erwachen | Spring Awakening - Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: Canon Era, Deaf Otto, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Tinnitus, because i love to write in period, deaf/HoH characters, georg has tinnitus, honestly i dont know what im doing here, i guess, its more implied than mention, maybe? - Freeform, period typical child neglect?, yeah sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 07:39:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15092192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuckinLoser/pseuds/ShuckinLoser
Summary: The piercing and pulsating scream of his ears have followed him for two months now. He can't escape it. Practicing his piano has only slightly masked the tone. Maybe it's time to bring his problem to someone's attention, maybe they might have a solution.AKA: This sounds like clickbait and honestly it might just be.





	No More Silence Anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I hold this little fic real dear to me, not only cuz it's my first fic I'm putting out, but because I want it to kind of change the way people write for deaf characters. Not just for this fandom but many more. As someone who is HoH (hard of hearing) I feel like some fics can be unintentionally inconsiderate with the way they write signed dialogue and the way they describe sign itself. Sign language is just that, a LANGUAGE. It doesn't need to be treated any specific way. (like with italics or 'this' instead of "This") it can be written like any spoken dialog, but with it's own added flair. Sign needs to be described more visually than audibly. Obviously. So describe how someone's hands might slip and sign the wrong letter or go to fast when they are nervous. Or go into detail about body language and facial expressions. Sorry this is so long... but I just want to make the very tiny community of hearing folk, and people who dont know sign, who actually writes d/hoh characters aware of some things I see happen a lot.  
> (Aslo side note: ASL is NOT a direct translation into English AT ALL. Not even sentence structure. But that doesn't mean you can't write signed dialogue in English!)
> 
> Also I've got this on tumblr too @/shuckinloser 
> 
> But anyways Georg has Tinnitus and u can just Google that idk.

Georg pushes his hands into the sleaves of his school uniform shirt and presses them against his ears. He often does this in the chaotic noise of a classroom but the emptiness of the music hall echos loud enough. With his hands over his ears he can hear it best. The ringing within them. One softy laying a flat tune and the other playing a high pitched morse. It will play and the noise will break into a stutter then repeat again. It's a constant in Georg's life now. It has been for the last two month. It keeps him up at night and never gives him silence. He dreads it. He took on piano just to fill in the emptiness of the rining. He plays constantly because of it. Like it's as necessary as breathing. His teacher calls him a protege, but he knows it's just the endless practice in search of a way to mask the sounds of his head. That and his teacher has nice breasts.

He hasn't told anyone about his ears. He knows his mother would believe him to be possessed and his father would rushingly agree. He would be sent straight to the church's reformatory boarding school in West Germany. And that frightens him more than the ringing. 

A knock hits the heavy wooden doors. It's faint behind the ring of Georg's ears but it is there. He removes his hands and wiggles his jaw trying to regain some normality in his hearing. It doesn't work.  
"Come in." He shouts to the stranger but the door doesn't open. He waits for a second and takes in the ringing silence of the moment. Another knock. This time he knows who it is. The memory of asking his friend to meet him refreshes itself in his memory. It's Otto. He quickly sits up, the motion leaving him dizzy, but he falters through approaching the door. Opening it reveals a slightly smaller boy in a blue knit wool scarf and school uniform. His nose and cheeks a contrasting red from the burning winter air. Otto lifts his hands and begins to sign. "I haven't seen you all afternoon. You said you wanted to talk about something and you didn't tell me where. I spent hours checking every possible place... but.. now that I think about it this should have been the first place I checked." He gives Georg an awkward smile and shrug as walks into the music hall.

Otto sits down on the piano bench and faces his friend. Georg looks at him and huffs with exhaust. "I'm sorry Otto. I should have told you. I've just been so out of it these past few weeks. I can't even think straight." His hands sign a little to harsh and he ends up hitting himself in the head harder than he had expected. He can feel it spike the noise in his ears. Otto sees his frustration and pats the spot next to him on the bench. An invitation to sit. So Georg takes it and turns his body to face Otto. Otto signs the word "Why?" With a deep concern.

"I haven't had any sleep. I sit up all night because I can't get any silence. My ears ring like church bells and they never stop. And all my waking time out of school is spent playing piano to distract myself from it! Im a mess!" He slumps and plants his face into his hands. Like this he can't see Otto's response. It's not the smartest option.  
The room is quite and all he can hear is the hiss of it.

Otto allows Georg several seconds then taps him on the shoulder a few times. Georg looks up. Otto watches his eyes for a second. They are sunk into his face and have formed noticeable dark circles so bad you can see them through his thick glasses. 

"Are they ringing now?" Georg signs yes. Nodding his head will just hurt him more. "Oh." He replies and nothing else. Otto doesn't really have and answer for Georg, surprisingly. He sort of shuffles closer to him and presses his ear against his. Georg's body tenses. Their faces warm together. Otto never gets this close to him on his own accord. It's always Georg who moves closer, and Otto usually just sits there. But he breathes out a laugh. "I can't hear anything." His fingers say, his face and crinkled nose giving his signs a sarcastic tone. Georg gets it and laughs softly. He signs "Very funny Otto." Otto prods him with his elbow, a smile plastered on his face. 

Georg notices Otto is still leaning into him. His hands softly plucking at the frayed ends of his scarf. He wraps an arm around Otto's shoulder and gives him a small squeeze. There is a flutter in his heart beat when Otto drops his scarf and reaches a hand up to rest atop his, it feels reassuring yet awkward. Georg turns his head away from his friend and pushes up his glasses with his free hand, something he often does when he's nervous. Otto shifts, his hand leaving Georg's so he can sign. "What are you gunna do about it?" His fingers asking a genuine question. Georg takes second to think. What really is there to be done? His parents would send him away. The doctor would just prescribe him a placebo. He has no clue what to do about it. It doesnt seem like its killing him. He sighs with a shrug. "I'm not sure. I guess I'll just live with it." His face ringing true his words, sad and distant. The world feels odd in that moment, Georg thinks. His ears overlapping all of the hum surrounding them in the large and empty room. His heart beating slightly faster than it's normal rate. They are so close on the bench. Georg can feel Otto's body heat against him even in the slight chill of the snow shrouded music hall. Georg has an odd urge to hold him a little tighter. Otto always understands him. Makes him feel wanted despite the mess that Georg is. He's usually tripping over his own feet, getting things wrong, never knowing what to say. But Otto always catches him, fixes his mistakes, and knows the answer. Even now, as Georg complains about a ringing in his eardrums to his deaf best friend, Otto still listens and trys to understand all of his problems.

Georg doesn't notice himself pulling the smaller boy closer. Otto notices however and drums his hands against his thighs nervously, thinking. Georg has no idea of the internal conflict going on within his friends head. All he knows is one second his ears are the only thing he can focus on, then next he's focused on Otto's lips lightly pressed to his cheek. And as soon as they appeared, they were gone. Leaving behind a soft flush brushed along Georg's face. Georg clears his throat and releases his grip on Otto out of dismay. Otto quickly signs "sorry" several times. Each time a more anxious expression on his face. He rubs his clammy hands against his thighs, smoothing wrinkles out in the process. The air between them felt stale with a strange energy. Georg feels it amplified by his ears. He just wants to ignore it. But it's not working. The noise too sharp and irritating to be blocked from his mind. Though, Otto made him ignore it for that quickest second. Maybe if he just...  
He rests his hand on top of Otto's. The movement makes the smaller boy jump. He nervously looks up at Georg. The boy has a slight smile. The kind he gives when he's trying to comfort someone. It's awkward yet charming in its own Georg way. He is leaning in, slowly. His hand on Otto's griping ever so slightly when their lips touch. It's soft and warm, but at the same time uncomfortable. Their noses pressed together and Georg's glasses get a little smudged. The kiss is no more than a press of lips, but they both feel it spark. And when they pull apart, Georg notices the ring again but it doesn't bother him as much. He adjusts his glasses all the same and signs. "That's a better distraction from the ringing than the piano." His face conveying his emotion of joy and tease. He laughs and Otto does too. "If the ringing never goes away... then neither will I." Otto's hands forming the words so sweetly, It could make the harsh German snow outside the music hall melt. They sit there in the dizzying peace. The ring only a background noise as the boys laugh together.  
Now Georg has another thing to distract him from the high pitched world of his head, and that thing is Otto Lammermeier.


End file.
